Dr. Steve Felix

Dr. Steven Felix is the newly-appointed Lecturer of Trumpet at Dartmouth College. He also serves as the Artist Associate in Trumpet at Williams College, where in addition to teaching applied trumpet, he also co-directs the Williams Brass Ensemble and is principal trumpet of the Berkshire Symphony. Prior to his appointment at Dartmouth, he served as an interim Lecturer of Trumpet at his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 2019-2020. An avid soloist, Dr. Felix has performed in competitions on the national and international level, having been awarded first place in the graduate solo division of the 2015 National Trumpet Competition along with a second place award in the undergraduate solo division in 2011. More recently, Steve was a featured performer at the 2024 International Trumpet Guild conference in Anaheim, CA, giving the virtual world premiere of John Isaac Mange's "Sonatina for Trumpet and Organ." During his time at Eastman, Dr. Felix was a highly active substitute trumpet with both the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Syracuse Orchestra, and has been active with the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 2013. As much as he enjoys both solo and orchestral performance mediums, Dr. Felix's most beloved pursuit lies in chamber music. Alongside his former brass quintet, Flower City Brass, Steve has amassed an extensive collection of invaluable chamber brass experiences. Highlights of his chamber career include a 2021 fellowship of the American Brass Quintet seminar at the Aspen Music Festival, an invitation to compete in the 2019 inaugural Philip Jones Brass Ensemble Competition (of which, FCB was the only American ensemble selected), and an entire summer spent studying with the world-renowned Stockholm Chamber Brass at their 2018 academy in Leksand, Sweden.

In addition to teaching at Dartmouth, Dr. Felix maintains a private studio comprising primary and secondary level students throughout Massachusetts, with many of his former students having been the recipients of all-district and all-state chairs in both wind band and orchestra. At the collegiate level, Dr. Felix has given masterclasses in both applied trumpet and chamber music at such institutions as the University of Rhode Island, the University of Massachusetts, and Methodist University (Fayateville, NC). While a doctoral student at Eastman, Dr. Felix co-coordinated and co-hosted a two-day regional trumpet festival, helping bring the esteemed talents of Mark Gould, Brian Shaw, Bob Malone and Wayne Tanabe (Yamaha USA), and Samantha Glazier (S.E. Shires) to the greater-Rochester and Eastman communities.

Throughout his career, Steve's primary teachers have included Paul Sundberg at Williams College, Eric Berlin at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and James Thompson at the Eastman School of Music.